1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surgical instruments, and more particularly to instruments that are used to insert, pass, or retrieve surgical implants within the body.
2. The Relevant Technology
There are a multitude of endoscopic, arthroscopic or other surgical procedures that require the ability to pass suture through soft tissues as part of an effort to repair various damaged structures. Surgical instruments specifically designed to pass and/or retrieve suture through tissue have become increasingly popular among surgeons. Due to the size constraints of the surgical procedure, the pathway for the needle to pass through the instrument and tissue is typically non-linear. Because of this non-linear pathway, the needle used to pass or retrieve the suture must be flexible enough to bend, yet rigid enough to still pass through the tissue to be sutured. Some existing needles are unable to reliably meet these requirements.
The specific mechanism by which the suture can be passed or retrieved may be accomplished by the needle, the instrument, or a secondary suture capturing feature such as a wire loop snare. Suture mechanisms involving the instrument or secondary features will add complexity to the design of the instrument and may even add steps to the surgical procedure. Mechanisms that utilize the needle for suture retrieval typically do not actively grasp the suture without assistance from other features on the instrument.
In order to consistently pass and retrieve suture through tissue, a complex process is involved that combines the challenges, described above, of passing a needle over a non-linear pathway and reliably retrieving the suture, all while operating through a small cannula and working in the confines of a small anatomical space.
Aside from sutures, other types of implant devices may be required to be implanted with constraints similar to those described above. These implants may need to be implanted or removed over a non-linear pathway relative to the access ports. Accordingly, procedures involving such implants are similarly difficult with existing technology.